Overview: Michael Mann (Thief, Collateral), the acclaimed auteur celebrated for his action panache and commitment to cinematic realism, turns his hand to depicting the high-stakes world of global cybercrime in Blackhat, a contemporary, ripped-from-the-headlines twist on the espionage thriller. Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers, Extraction) stars as Nick Hathaway, a gifted hacker currently serving a lengthy prison sentence. When a Hong Kong nuclear plant goes into meltdown after its security is penetrated, Chinese army cybersecurity captain Chen Dawai (Leehom Wang, Lust, Caution) offers his old college roommate a deal: help identify and apprehend the culprit in exchange for his own freedom. What follows is a frenetic, globe-trotting race against time to avert disaster, fraught with hidden agendas and ever-shifting loyalties.

Blu-ray Verdict: The most astounding scene of Blackhat is the opening. It takes the audience inside of a computer, how data travels around the system. When the hacking confirms to attack its target, lights collide like a literal weapon about to cause serious danger, which did become an actual destruction.

In spite that it lacks subtlety in its program reliant side, it already acknowledges what effects these technologies will cause in their mission. Even though it still involves actual fights, with guns and hand-in-hand combat, the movie remains strangely gripping. Blackhat is kind of a mess, but the film leaves a quality that can be worth looking at.

Not every techno-thriller has the completely accurate depiction of hacking or jacking into systems, but while Blackhat doesn’t have much of the information to absorb the viewers into its computer world, it rather just contemplates at its tangible effects. Like as said before, the opening scene is a striking light show that indicates what possible danger the data holds to the system. Other than that, we just see people reacting to what they see on their screens. This is a clever portrayal to this strategy for once, instead of making up its own rules to the technology.

Once they finally encounter their enemy in the flesh, things get louder. This is the specialty of director, Michael Mann. The firefights are compellingly thrilling, the most remarkable one is in the tunnel, where gunfire hauntingly echoes along the halls. It brings a sense of realism to the sequence. The movie gets totally absurd afterwards, especially the revenge driven climax, but it’s still an action movie pleasure, but it also compromises its senses for the cyber aspects, of course.

Moving on and the overall chemistry between the characters is well developed, these bonds of trust and friendship however being secondary to the chemistry between Hathaway and Lien. The words and facial expressions employed by Ms. Wei help convey the immediate mutual attraction her character and Hathaway experience, and we are largely unsurprised when the two of them begin a relationship, a subtle explanation about Hathaway’s past illustrating how his feelings for her can grow so intense so quickly.

Furthermore, unlike in other films from Michael Mann, the villains have limited exposure. This aside, we understand perfectly their motivations and intentions, and through these, we comprehend the viciousness of their characters.

At the same time however, we are largely unaware of the cultural difficulties that would arise during a joint investigation between two super-powers, and though there is mention more than once about America’s disapproval of working so technologically close with China, this does little to dampen the working relationship of those involved.

The camera work is very similar to previous Mann films. Cuts are often very quick and seamless, while long cuts are used to focus upon particular characters during moments of thought or anguish. A narrow depth of field is frequently implemented to make a particular character or object stand out, while hand-held style camera operation during chase sequences and fight scenes, really makes the audience feel as though they are there.

In closing, although sometimes predictable, Blackhat continuously retains its entertaining climate, and despite the word action been previously used to describe the feature, it really plays out more as a dramatic thriller, and for those more interested in colossal fight sequences, you may want to look elsewhere!

Thoroughly interesting, frequently thought provoking and constantly attention grabbing, like all great under-appreciated underdog’s, Blackhat is absolutely worth the risk of purchasing.

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Three cuts of the film, including the home video premiere of Michael Mann’s re-imagined director’s cut
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Doug John Miller
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Andrew Graves

DISC ONE - THE US AND INTERNATIONAL VERSIONS (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentations in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of both the US and international versions of the film
Original lossless 5.1 audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
Firewall - brand new video interview with cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh
Zero Day Threat - brand new video interview with production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas
The Cyber Threat, On Location Around the World and Creating Reality - three archival behind-the-scenes featurettes on the making of the film
Image gallery

DISC TWO - THE DIRECTOR’S CUT (BLU-RAY) [LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE]
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of Michael Mann’s director’s cut of the film
Original lossless 5.1 audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

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